title: Echinococcus multilocularis infection in pet dogs in Japan.
abstract: A survey of Echinococcus multilocularis infections in pet dogs in Japan from 1997 to 2007 was conducted by testing for coproantigen reactivity, fecal taeniid eggs, and egg DNA. In Hokkaido, the only island where E. multilocularis is endemic in Japan, 18 of 4768 dogs (0.4%) excreted taeniid eggs that were positive for E. multilocularis DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Most of the dogs testing positive for egg DNA were kept free-range, but three dogs had been kept inside their owners' houses. In addition, 15 dogs were suspected to be infected based on the results of a coproantigen test. One dog, which was transported from Hokkaido to Honshu, the main island of Japan, was excreting taeniid eggs that were positive for E. multilocularis DNA by PCR. These results suggest the importance of proper pet management in disease prevention, even for dogs kept indoors, and they point out a possible means by which the parasite may be introduced into non-endemic areas through transport of infected dogs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Disease Control, Laboratory of Parasitology, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. nnonaka@vetmed.hokudai.ac.jp
authors.forename: Nariaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nonaka
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kamiya
authors.forename: Fumio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Sumiya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ganzorig
authors.forename: Satoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.forename: Kinpei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yagi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwaki
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Yuzaburo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oku
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000032:analysis; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000302:isolation & purification; D030561:Databases, Nucleic Acid; D004199:Disease Vectors; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000635:transmission; D004285:Dogs; D004443:Echinococcosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D048210:Echinococcus multilocularis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D010270:Parasite Egg Count / Q000662:veterinary; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012377:Rodentia / Q000469:parasitology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000947:Antigens, Helminth; D018509:DNA, Helminth